


Art of War

by sweet_fogarty



Series: All's Fair in Love and War [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Artist Steve Rogers, BAMF Natasha Romanov, HYDRA Trash Compactor Challenge, Hydra (Marvel), Kidnapping, Multi, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Non-Graphic Violence, Past Torture, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Sam Wilson, Protective Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Feels, Sam Wilson is a Gift, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:09:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26511181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweet_fogarty/pseuds/sweet_fogarty
Summary: Steve, Sam and Natasha are on the run from a Hydra faction that just can't quit. With nowhere else to go, Steve takes them across continents to a small town in Ireland where Gabriela de Leon lives. Gabriela, his old flame. Gabriela, a woman in hiding from Hydra. Gabriela, the woman his best friend Sam is currently harbouring a huge crush on.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers (mentioned), Natasha Romanoff/Clint Barton (Mentioned), Past Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s), Sam Wilson/Original Character(s), Sam Wilson/Original Female Character(s)
Series: All's Fair in Love and War [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927543
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Art of War

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Warnings: Mentions of Violence, Torture. Non-Graphic Depictions of Death, Decay. Mentions of the Military

Lismore is a very old town, small and quaint and full of impressive architecture, the inhabitants believe it to have been founded as early as the seventh century. Gabriela de Leon isn’t quite sure what she thinks about that, but she knows that for a safe-house, she’s very glad that she was relocated just out of the town. Gabriela’s been here for almost seven years now and every time she drives down the long road that leads into the forestry, bringing her to her home, she’s always in awe at the scenery.

Maybe that’s why she didn’t notice the loud sounds of a jet nearby. When she parks her car in the driveway, she grabs the grocery bags from her passenger seat and smiles at the sound of her torn sneakers hitting the gravel below her feet, unlocks the fancy lock (Shield approved, of course) and starts on making her dinner. Gabriela doesn’t make it far into her evening, having only listened to one song blasting through her speakers and just barely pulling the chicken out of the freezer before an electronic voice cuts through the Queen song playing and informs her that she has guests on her front porch.

Gabriela’s blood runs cold, and she drops the thing of chicken on the floor. She doesn’t have the energy or the time to worry about her now-spoiled dinner as she reaches for the pistol hidden under her kitchen island and slowly makes her way down the hallway towards the front door.

Through the glass lining the side of the main entrance door, Gabriela can make out the distorted figures of three people - the one in the front, the clearest to see, is tall and bulking and behind them stands another body equally as muscular and strong but not as broad, shorter too. The third is clearly a woman, all curves and perfect posture. Gabriela’s steps are hesitant and her hand barely grazes the doorknob, the other hand still clutching the gun tightly as she hears the rushed speaking from the other end.

Taking a deep breath, she tightens her hand on the knob and pulls open the door, quickly getting into a defensive stance and raising her gun out in front of her with both hands. The sight that meets Gabriela, however, is nothing that she would’ve ever guessed. Her hands fall, gun clattering loudly to the floor and he smiles sheepishly at Gabriela, hands pushing into the depths of his well-fitted dark jeans.

Gabriela lets herself look him over; Steve Rogers has changed significantly from the last time she saw him when he was hugging her goodbye seven years ago. They’d kept in touch through phone calls and video chatting but the past year it’s been radio silent. Steve is a lot bulkier than he was before when he was still fresh out of the ice and hadn’t been through half of the horrors he has today. Steve’s hair is untamed, long and a darker blond than before because the sun hasn’t touched it nearly as much as it should. His shoulders are just as broad, biceps bulging slightly more but that wasn’t the most surprising bit. The biggest change was the full dark beard covering the bottom half of his face, and if it had been seven years ago and Gabriela still had feelings for him then this would’ve been her undoing.

It wasn’t 2013 anymore though, so Gabriela’s eyes narrow and she opens with, “ _ Steven Grant Rogers, what the hell are you doing here _ ?”

She hears a loud snicker from behind where Steve is curling in on himself and her eyes snap towards the culprit and there she is, Natasha Romanoff. Like Steve, Gabriela and Nat are extremely close, or they were (still are?) and, like Steve, it’s been nothing but radio silence for a year. Nat’s appearance has changed from before as well, though nowhere near as drastic - she’s gained some weight in all of the right places, her muscles hardened over time. Her hair is a lot longer than the sleek straightened bob she sported before and falls in messy curls down to her waist. Gabriela switches her slitted eyes to Natasha now, “And  _ you _ , don’t think for a second that you’re any less in the shitter than Captain War Criminal over there.”

Natasha has the decency to look slightly guilty but smirks anyway and Steve’s now suppressing a smile because if Gabriela has the energy to call him names then she isn’t as mad as she looks to be. Gabriela looks them over again, eyes finally settling on the third member of their triad.

The news called him Falcon or Sam Wilson and she remembers hearing stories of him and his escapades when she was overseas in active duty. He’s every bit as handsome as the news made him out to be, lean but muscular in all the right places - his arms are crossed over his chest making his biceps bulge. His legs are strong, thighs muscular and Gabriela has no doubt that he has people fawning over him left, right and center.

Gabriela notes the suitcases by their feet and sighs, reaching down to pick up the forgotten pistol and opening the door wider before she turns and calls over her shoulder, “Well come on then, I’m not trying to heat up the outdoors.”

From behind Gabriela, Sam snorts and follows with Steve and Nat. Steve still looks ever the scorned child and Natasha holds an expression Sam’s never really seen before - a mixture of respect, adoration, and guilt maybe? He leans in to whisper in Steve’s ear, “Cap who  _ is _ this girl?”

Gabriela suppresses a smile when she hears this but makes no comment that she’s heard and continues to lead them all into the living room. Steve shoves Sam, sending him his version of a dirty look and Sam only laughs some more under his breath. When the four of them reach the living room, Sam, Steve and Natasha put their suitcases on the ground by their feet. Once their bags touch the hardwood Gabriela huffs, causing them to look up. Steve is very quickly catching Gabriela in his arms as the petite woman launches herself at him. He smiles, squeezing her back equally as tightly.

“You absolute idiot,” she scolds when she pulls back, emphasizing each word with a smack to his incredibly toned chest. Steve chuckles lowly and pulls her back in for a hug, placing a tender kiss against her temple before letting her move on. Gabriela is equally as enthusiastic in her hug with Natasha, gripping the ex-assassin in a near-lethal grip and Nat does the same back, squeezing her torso tightly. Gabriela scolds Natasha as well when she pulls away, “Both of you, complete imbeciles.”

When she turns to the third member Sam already has a charming flirty smile on his face and Gabriela lifts an eyebrow in amusement. Sam’s hand is stuck in front of him, reaching to shake hers as he introduces himself, “Sam, though I’m sure you already knew that, baby girl.”

“Baby girl, huh?” Gabriela questions and pulls her hand back with a roll of her eyes, though her olive skin is dusted a soft pink and there’s a smile on her face, “You’re going to have to try harder than that, Wilson. Gabriela de Leon.”

Gabriela sends Sam one last playful smile before directing her attention towards the lot of them, arms crossing over her chest as she scrutinizes them, “So, you’re missing a terrorist.”

“Technically not terrorists,” Sam quips and Gabriela struggles not to let her laugh slip but ultimately wins the battle.

Steve smiles sheepishly, “That’s actually why we’re here - we’ve been all over the states trying to lead any prying eyes away from him. He’s in Wakanda, recovering - they figured out how to get rid of his trigger words. Some stray Hydra faction was starting to gain on us, I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

Gabriela hums and stays silent for a few moments just to make Steve flounder before she sighs and asks playfully, “So what does a recovering Winter Soldier do for fun in Wakanda?”

“Last we heard he’s got a nice little goat family going on.” Sam provides immediately while laughing, Steve looks at him exasperated but Sam shrugs and plops himself onto the couch, crossing his arms behind his head.

Gabriela raises an eyebrow, “A goat family? I think they’re missing their second dad, Stevie.”

Sam laughs loudly, Nat smiles wide and Steve blushes a bright red colour. Back when they first started being friends, Steve and Gabriela had dated for a few months - very brief, not getting any farther than touchy make-out sessions - but they’d called things off because they figured they were better off platonic anyways, and Steve still held a torch for his then-dead best friend. When he found out Bucky was still alive he flew out to see Gabriela and they talked for the whole weekend; when Gabriela heard Steve committed some type of war crime to save his Bucky she wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

“Ha-ha, very funny Gab,” Steve says with a roll of his eyes. Gabriela raises her eyebrows and laughs, pushing Steve down onto the couch beside Sam, Natasha settling in the plush chair.

“I’ll order a pizza,” Gabriela states, pulling out her phone to call. She may have given them trouble upon arrival but there was a reason Steve and Nat insisted on coming here - Gabriela was fiercely loyal and there’s no one they trust more than her - it wasn’t even a question if she would say yes. You can always count on Gabriela de Leon.

**_____**

_ Steve was stood next to Natasha, Brock Rumlow and several other members of their team standing a couple of feet behind them. Around them, buildings were starting to crumble from grenades and firepower, civilians screaming and sobbing as members of the military and Shield guided them to safety. It reminded Steve all too much of his time at war, and every few hours he had to practice the breathing exercises that his Shield-mandated therapist had given him. _

_ They were closer to the outskirts of the cite of Raqqa, having gotten word of a base of the Syrian Opposition that was holding the taken nurses’ hostage. _

_ Two weeks ago Shield was called on to help find a group of combat nurses that had been taken while driving back to base. There were six of them, all in their twenties and seemingly everyday women. It wouldn’t have been a Shield-level hostage situation had Gabriela de Leon not been part of the group. Gabriela had been put on a watch list by Shield when she was in high school, so when it was called in Fury was notified immediately. _

_ The director had informed Rogers and Romanoff that Gabriela had an eidetic memory and an IQ that rivalled that of Tony Stark. She was on a list of potential Inhumans, having been born to a mother with the mutant gene. Of course, Gabriela was unknown to this fact as her mother had died during childbirth and her father not long after in a car accident - Gabriela was raised by her father’s parents. _

_ Steve was not well versed in Inhuman knowledge, but even without that mutated gene it was clear that Gabriela was an extraordinary woman, and after interviewing all her brothers and sisters back at the base it was clear that that translated off paper as well. _

_ Her comrades had described Gabriela as being more on the shy type at first - quiet, calculating if a little awkward, but after training, she’d really come out of her shell. One of the nurses, Jackie was her name (at least, Steve thinks), had said that Gabriela was naturally a very nurturing and compassionate woman, but once she got comfortable with you it was clear she was a bit of a spitfire, most of the base saying she had a bit of a reckless streak. Jackie had said that Gabriela wouldn’t hesitate to jump in the line of fire if it meant saving someone - Steve couldn’t help but be reminded of himself, and if the look Romanoff had given him was any indication, she was thinking the same thing. _

_ So now they stood outside this supposed enemy base, having just finished running over their plan for the last time. Steve was staring down at the photo in his hand, the one Fury had given him and Romanoff so they knew exactly who their first priority was. The girl in the photo was on the younger side, her file had stated that two days ago Gabriela had turned twenty-eight years old (so she was about a year younger than Romanoff).  _

_ The photo was taken the last time she was back home, one of her friends had taken it Steve guessed. Her hair was a dark, deep coloured brown that Steve would’ve mistaken for black had it not been for the sun glowing down on it - her eyes matched her hair in a dark chocolate colour but flecks of hazel and gold littered them. Her eyes were round, making her look younger, and her lips were big and plump. Steve couldn’t deny that Gabriela was beautiful - traditionally so, like one of the pinups from back when he was younger. _

_ “You know I’m sure she’d say yes to a date, Captain,” Romanoff said inquisitively, head tilted as she looked over Steve’s shoulder at the picture. Steve rolled his eyes and hummed, “We’ve gotta find her first, Romanoff. And for the last time, I’m not looking for a dame.” _

_ Steve heard snorting from behind and Rumlow snickered ‘dame’ under his breath. Steve had to will his cheeks not to redden and gestured for the team to move out, the six of them holding guns at the ready as they entered the seemingly desolate base. _

_ The second the group of them rounded the corner was when they were attacked - a group of ten maybe fifteen soldiers ran towards them, they had large military-style guns and shot rigorously at them. Steve used his shield to block the bullets and guarded Romanoff with it as well. As he ran through the group, knocking enemy soldiers down one by one with Romanoff by his side he couldn’t help but mumble expletives under his breath, annoyed and angered by the group that wouldn’t quit it. _

_ When Steve and Natasha rounded the next hallway it was clear, but at the very end was a steel door with an old-school styled lock on it, chained shut. Steve shared a look with his partner and Romanoff nodded, moving forward to examine the lock and how best to pick it. Romanoff had the lock picked in under sixty-seconds and she and Steve advanced together, Steve in front with his shield raised and a gun in his second hand - Romanoff was placed slightly behind Steve with her hands on her own pistol. _

_ When they entered the room it was clear that whomever had been working there had already left (and in a hurry at that). Steve’s eyes burned and he scrunched his nose up as he struggled not to cover it at the scent of decaying bodies - on the floor of the room were five dead bodies of the nurses that had been taken, clear to have been dead for at least a week. Steve gulped down a deep breath of air, the scene had reminded him too much of his time in Nazi Germany and he had set out to find the final nurse - Gabriela.  _

_ “Steve,” Romanoff called out, and by the inflection in her voice Steve was able to discern that something was off. As he turned he saw Romanoff stood in the corner of the room, body angled over a girl cowered in the corner. When Steve approached he saw that it was Gabriela - she had been noticeably thinner than the picture they were given, her hair was ratty and tangled, lips an ugly sort-of chapped and her eyes were drifting in and out of focus. _

_ “Miss de Leon?” Steve asked and lowered his body into a crouch so that he was knelt in front of the woman. Gabriela’s eyes had begun to focus, brown meeting blue and Steve watched as they cleared in recognition before they drifted off and stared at a spot over his shoulder, hazing over. _

_ Gabriela’s voice had come out scratchy and hoarse, “Steven Grant Rogers. Alias, Captain America. Born, July 4th, 1918. Status, Alive.” _

**_____**

The pizza lays forgotten on the coffee table of Gabriela’s living room as the four sit around it, exchanging stories of the past year. After initial introductions and Gabriela’s lecture of “just because we’re in love with people doesn’t mean we’re allowed to commit war crimes and almost kill other teammates” which was half-true and half-exasperation, the four of them had settled around to eat dinner and for Steve, Nat and Sam to unwind a little bit.

Now, though, hours have passed and Gabriela checks the time on her phone to see it approaching past midnight. She sighs, standing from where she’d been sitting next to Steve and cracks her back as she stretches. Clearing her throat, she starts gathering all of the dirty dishes into a pile and grabs the empty pizza boxes. After glaring at all three superheroes for trying to aid in tidying-up, Gabriela brings everything to the kitchen and decides on doing the dishes in the morning.

When she re-enters the living room she claps her hands together loudly to get their attention, “Okay! Nat, Steve, you know where your rooms are, same as the first time around. Sam, the only other guest bedroom is the last door at the end of the hallway on the right. Steve is in the room across from you, beside you is Natasha and across from Nat and beside Steve is my bedroom. The bathroom is on the other side of Nat’s room. Now, I’m going to bed, all the bedding and stuff should be all good on the beds but any extras are in the linen closet in the hallway.”

It felt so much like an order that everyone stands to follow Gabriela to bed, the petite woman moving to give Steve a tight squeeze. Steve returns it with a quiet ‘sleep well’ and a kiss to her temple, and Gabriela gives the same tight hug to Natasha who, Sam reels to see, returns it without hesitation and mumbles something inaudible into her hair before she pulls away.

When Gabriela moves on to stand in front of Sam, both of them hesitate slightly, unsure what they’re supposed to do in this situation. Sam watches as Gabriela’s eyes squint slightly in consideration before she physically shrugs and pulls him in for a short hug. It’s loose and not nearly as tender as Steve and Nat’s, but Sam understands immediately why Natasha holds no hesitation in accepting hugs from this petite, bombshell of a woman. It’s warm and comforting and feels so much like a slice of home and Sam smiles wide and hums under his breath, “Sweet dreams, babygirl.”

Gabriela rolls her eyes, laughs, and pulls away, biding one last goodnight to the trio before retreating behind her bedroom door. Sam bites his lips as he stares at her bedroom door, smile still intact, only to be brought out of it by a snort from Natasha, “I guess her effect on men is universal.”

Steve bristles as he goes towards his room, “Shut up, Nat.”


End file.
